ActiveReports 19 .NET Edition
Report Authors / Data Binding / Data Binding in Page/RDLX Reports / Add Dataset
Add Dataset

After connecting to a data source in a Page/RDLX report, you need to add a dataset. It is the dataset that contains the data to which a report connects. This article demonstrates the steps to add a dataset in a Page/RDLX report, and the various configuration settings available in the Dataset dialog box.

A dataset fetches data from the data source to display in a report. The DataSet dialog is where you provide a command type and query string and choose other options for your dataset.

You can also control the timeout period and other data options, and add fields, parameters, and filters to fetch the data you need. Once you have added a dataset, the dataset fields appear under the Data Source node in the Report Explorer. You can add multiple datasets for a data source. For example, you can use multiple data sets in a report when nesting data regions such as Tablix, List, Chart, BandedList, Table, and Sparkline.

Furthermore, ActiveReports provides a Visual Query Designer for Microsoft SQL Client and Microsoft OLEDB providers and Query Designers for JSON and XML providers, which allow the users to build the dataset queries easily.

Note: The dataset for a CSV data source is automatically added. The default name of the data set is the name of the CSV file selected. You can later modify the dataset through the Edit option in the context menu.

Add a dataset

  1. In ActiveReports designer, go to the Report Explorer.
    • With the Data Source node (like DataSource1) selected, click the Add icon on the top left and select Data Set.

      Adding a Dataset to a Page/RDL report
    • Right-click an existing data source and select Add Data Set.

      Adding a Dataset to a Page/RDL report
  2. In the DataSet dialog box that appears, select the General page and enter the name of the dataset. By default, the dataset name is set to DataSet1. This name appears as a child node to the Data Source node in the Report Explorer.
  3. Navigate to the Query tab. Based on the chosen command type, enter the query to retrieve the data from a database. You can verify the query by clicking the Validate DataSet icon Validate Icon in Report Data Source Dialog Box . See DataSet dialog properties for setting up the dataset.
    The availability of a specific query designer depends on the report's data source connection. For more information on query designers, see articles Query Builder in JSON and XML Providers and Query Builder in Microsoft SQL Client and OLEDB Providers.
       
  4. Click OK to save the changes.

DataSet dialog properties

The DataSet dialog provides the following pages where you can set the dataset properties. 

The General page of the DataSet dialog is where you can set the name of the dataset.

Name: Enter a name for the dataset. By default, the name is set to DataSet1. The name of the dataset appears in the tree view of the Report Explorer. It is also used to call the dataset in code so it should be unique within the report.

See Also